Maayong Buntag sa tanan!

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” 

It was bound to happen.  After spending three years with His disciples, Peter finally figured it
out.  Actually, the moment had arrived for him to figure it out.  The Holy Spirit had
enlightened his heart and mind to know that Jesus is God. 
Now, all the Apostles know who He is.  The Word is out. When Jesus asked him who he was,
Peter answered that He is The Christ of God. Actually, the Word has finally materialized.
Jesus the incarnate becomes the living word. What I find remarkable is how long it took them
to realize it.  Brothers (and sisters):  Isn’t it remarkable how long it takes for a person to know
his companions or friends???  For instance, here in the seminary, unsa kadugay bag-o nato
nailhan si Alvin Mugot nga bootan ug si Nikko Solde nga hilig manghinlo.
The point I am trying to make is that, although the Apostles spent days, weeks and years with
Jesus; although they saw him and converse with him constantly, it was not enough to know
Him fully.  It still took the Heavenly Father to reveal His face unto the people.  As Thomas
Aquinas would say in (Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 2, art 9) that: Faith is an act of the
intellect when it assents to divine truth under the influence of the will moved by God
through grace. In short, faith is a grace.  And no matter how often the Apostles saw the
Lord’s face, it still took the Father’s grace to reveal His Son to them. That is why in today’s
sharing it is anchored on St. Peter’s expression of faith, for having recognized Jesus as God.
The same holds true today. Not every people share the same faith as with us.  No matter how
hard a Christian tries to convert someone to the faith, or convince someone to believe in
Catholic teachings, it still takes God’s grace to reveal His face to them.   We simply draw
others closer to the Lord. It is the Lord, and only the Lord, that can make the blind see, the
deaf hear and the dumb believe.
And just when we think we know Jesus, He slips away from us.  The Lord will not be
controlled.  Unlike us, He will not allow His friends to distort Him, confuse Him, demean
Him, twist Him or change Him.  He will not be manipulated.  He will not allow Himself to be
placed in a test tube and experimented on.  Peter discovers this quickly, and is reminded
ferociously to let God be God.  Let the Lord do what He must do: to suffer greatly in the face
of crucifixion and death in order to save His people. 

Although Christ did not allow others to manipulate Him, He did allow them to define Him. 
When His enemies tried to twist Him, He did not change.  When they tried to bend Him and
break Him, He stood tall.  Though Judas betrayed Him, He never betrayed his people.  He
accepted Peter's denial as he accepted his sorrow.  He was saddened by Thomas' doubt but
never doubted His Apostles.   
In my sharing there is only a single point that I would like to stress: “Faith begins when
reason ends.”
This is a famous dictum that would tell us that not everything about God can be known. That
as we wonder and venture into the complexity of his nature, we stop and acknowledge our
own finiteness. That is to remind us that our minds cannot fathom his infinite reality. Like
Peter, he never questioned or contested as to who Jesus Christ exactly. However, he placed
his entire faith to Him. That after serving and following Jesus’ public ministry he finally
figured out that Jesus Christ is the long awaited Messiah, not a prophet, not John the Baptist
nor Elijah but a Messiah who will save them for their sins. A king who will give them
spiritual liberation – a way to God’s eternal kingdom.
Today we ask the Lord to give us the grace of faith. That as seminarians (or religious) even
when we learn a lot from our theology and philosophy classes, we should not forget to aid our
understanding with faith. That as we study the scripture, the doctrines of the Church, the
dogmas of the Church, the theology and philosophy of this and that, we should not forget to
accompany our reason with faith. It is a humble expression of our own limitations as human
beings.
That as we reach the boundaries of our understanding in searching for the Ultimate, we hold
on to our faith. The light of faith that brings us closer to the only True and Perfect God
materialized in the presence of Jesus – the incarnate Son and the visible expression of God’s
hidden quality.
And also, we are reminded by today’s gospel that during this time of pandemic we become
like Peter. We too should have faith and Let God Be God in our lives. That even though
tormented by this corona virus, we still hold on to our faith and cling to Jesus’ salvific power.
He is our ‘soter’ (our Savior) who never abandons us and who will guide us through this
crisis.
“Jesus Christ you are the only one who can satisfy this burning desire in our hearts that
cries out Your name. Increase our faith, O Lord, as we try to increase also our knowledge.
Give us a sight of faith in order to defend your teachings. And strengthen us so that we
become closer to You. Amen.”